Google search "Olive Garden vegan" and you'll come up with a whole long list of people saying that Olive Garden is awful for not being vegan or even vegetarian-friendly. That is utterly, completely, totally wrong. At least as far as most typical American restaurants go. All of their pastas, besides the gnocchi, are eggless, the bread is eggless, they have vegetables (quite rare, I assure you) and generally friendly staff (in all of my experience). I went there with my omni brother, dad, grandparents, and vegetarian mother, and everyone found something to be happy about.
I had the Bruschetta, toasted bread with tomato topping, for an appetizer, and the Pasta alla Marinara with a side of grilled vegetables (zucchini) for my main course. We asked our server to bring us two bowls of salad, one with dressing and one without (their house dressing is not vegan), so I ate the plain salad. You can probably ask for a dressing without cheese and egg, just a basic vinaigrette would work. If your not a salad person, their Minestrone soup is vegan. Also we asked for the server to bring a basket of bread sticks without butter and cheese on top - they just have to nab a couple before they get topped, then they bake them and viola! Vegan bread sticks. Overall it was delicious, and a great place for everyone to get something to eat.
I know this isn't a recipe, but it's still important. I wanted to set the record straight for any other vegans out there. So any vegans with omni friends, or omnis with vegan friends, can happily dine at Olive Garden without fear.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Oreos and Cake: A Match Made in Heaven
Seeing as today is my birthday (yay!) I was busy this weekend baking my favorite dessert - chocolate oreo cake with cookies 'n' cream frosting. Let me tell you, this stuff is addictive. My brother (nonvegan) can't stop eating the frosting. The height of decadence is dipping unused oreos in the frosting. I basically used the chocolate cake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (a must-have for vegan chefs), but have altered it enough that I don't feel too bad sharing the recipe with you. Here it is!
Tools: Oven, microwave, electric hand mixer, two large bowls (for frosting and batter - I use one bowl, and wash it before making the frosting), cake pan or muffin pans, ziplock bags, someting to mash cookies with, bowl for melting butter, large (at least 2 cup) wet measuring cup, 1 cup dry measuring cup, teaspoon measure, large spoon.
Ingredients (I made 1 and 1/2 recipes for a big cake, but this should make a smaller cake or about 24 cupcakes)
Cake:
2 c non-dairy milk (I use almond)
2 tsps apple cider vinegar
2 and 1/2 to 3 c sugar
1 and 1/2 c vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 c cocoa
2 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
large pinch salt
3 c flour
2/3 of a package of oreos
Frosting:
2 c vegan margarine
2 c shortening
1/2 c (ish) non-dairy milk
5 c (ish) powdered sugar
1 tsp (ish) vanilla extract
Oreos to taste, at least 1/2 of a package
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350. Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk in the measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Melt the margarine in a bowl.
2) Mix the milk mixture, sugar, margarine, and vanilla together in the bowl. If the milk is cold, the margarine may resolidify. If this happens you may want to use the electric hand mixer to break up the chunks, but don't worry, by the end of the recipe the butter will be incorporated.
3) Add the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
4) Add the flour, one cup at a time, to the mixture.
5) In a plastic bag mash the oreos. I like largish chunks in the cake, but not larger than 1/6 of a cookie.
6) Bake the batter. I used two circular springfoam pans, which took about 30 minutes. (Just check it periodically - I don't really remember how long it was.) Cupcakes take about 10 to 12 minutes for each batch. If you're using something different, just cook the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, check it, and go from there.
7) While the cake is cooking, make the frosting. This is really subjective - that's why all the measurements have "ish" next to them. Melt the butter and the shortening (seperately - Earth Balance shortening takes forever to melt), then add the milk, sugar, and vanilla. Mix with the electric hand mixer until well incorporated. If it's too thick, add more milk, too thin, more sugar. Basically just keep adding stuff until it tastes good, but a bit of advice, leave it slightly runny. If you want it more buttery, add more butter, if you want it to taste more like commercially available frosting, add more shortening. When it tates good, crush up the cookies into fine crumbs (I put them in a bag and used a rolling pin on them) and add them in. Keep adding cookies until you get the desired taste.
Here's a pic!
Tools: Oven, microwave, electric hand mixer, two large bowls (for frosting and batter - I use one bowl, and wash it before making the frosting), cake pan or muffin pans, ziplock bags, someting to mash cookies with, bowl for melting butter, large (at least 2 cup) wet measuring cup, 1 cup dry measuring cup, teaspoon measure, large spoon.
Ingredients (I made 1 and 1/2 recipes for a big cake, but this should make a smaller cake or about 24 cupcakes)
Cake:
2 c non-dairy milk (I use almond)
2 tsps apple cider vinegar
2 and 1/2 to 3 c sugar
1 and 1/2 c vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 c cocoa
2 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
large pinch salt
3 c flour
2/3 of a package of oreos
Frosting:
2 c vegan margarine
2 c shortening
1/2 c (ish) non-dairy milk
5 c (ish) powdered sugar
1 tsp (ish) vanilla extract
Oreos to taste, at least 1/2 of a package
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350. Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk in the measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Melt the margarine in a bowl.
2) Mix the milk mixture, sugar, margarine, and vanilla together in the bowl. If the milk is cold, the margarine may resolidify. If this happens you may want to use the electric hand mixer to break up the chunks, but don't worry, by the end of the recipe the butter will be incorporated.
3) Add the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
4) Add the flour, one cup at a time, to the mixture.
5) In a plastic bag mash the oreos. I like largish chunks in the cake, but not larger than 1/6 of a cookie.
6) Bake the batter. I used two circular springfoam pans, which took about 30 minutes. (Just check it periodically - I don't really remember how long it was.) Cupcakes take about 10 to 12 minutes for each batch. If you're using something different, just cook the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, check it, and go from there.
7) While the cake is cooking, make the frosting. This is really subjective - that's why all the measurements have "ish" next to them. Melt the butter and the shortening (seperately - Earth Balance shortening takes forever to melt), then add the milk, sugar, and vanilla. Mix with the electric hand mixer until well incorporated. If it's too thick, add more milk, too thin, more sugar. Basically just keep adding stuff until it tastes good, but a bit of advice, leave it slightly runny. If you want it more buttery, add more butter, if you want it to taste more like commercially available frosting, add more shortening. When it tates good, crush up the cookies into fine crumbs (I put them in a bag and used a rolling pin on them) and add them in. Keep adding cookies until you get the desired taste.
Here's a pic!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Indian Food!
In the spirit of updating this thing more often, a new albeit short post for today! When I go home one the weekends, I look forward to food. Vegan food. Lots of it. But lately, I've found that me and my parents have gotten into a Sweet Tomatoes/Chipotle/Chinese food/Noodles & Company/chickpea casserole rut. Now I love this food, but it gets boring after say, a year. So I took things into my own hands, and decided to try two Indian dishes off this awesome site: 72 Vegan Indian Recipes. We tried the Spinach & Chickpeas and Beancurd (Tofu) in Tomato Sauce. The tofu thing is really good, the spinach one is kinda bland and my parents didn't like it, but I still think it's good. We also had Basmati rice, which is delicious. I can't wait to try out more of these recipes, and I'll let you know what's good!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Cinnamon Rolls
Hey, sorry I haven't posted in forever. I have been baking, so I promise that from now on I'll update at least once weekly.
So last night, I decided it would be nice to make cinnamon rolls for my parents. I found several months ago that if you prepare cinnamon rolls, put them in the pan, and then instead of letting them rise for 40 minutes in a warm place you put them in the fridge, you can cook them the next morning and they turn out great. It's the perfect birthday or anniversary surprise, especially for us night owls who are never awake before our parents on the weekends. The recipe is a combination of a vegan recipe and a bread machine recipe, so here it is.
This makes 15 cinnamon rolls. This recipe will work with or without a bread machine, but it's much easier with one. Also as a note, I totally forgot to add the cinnamon to these, and they still tasted good, so you can really easily modify the filling and add or take away whatever you want. Like if you don't have walnuts, just leave them out! I'd suggest using more brown sugar and margarine if you do that, so you still have enough filling.
Tools:
Oven, fridge, bread machine (makes it easier, but not neccesary), food processor (for egg replacer; optional), 13x9x2in pan, nonstick cooking spray, rolling pin, bowl for dough (if you don't have a bread machine), bowl for melting margarine, cup measure, tablespoon measure, teaspoon measure, bowl for filling, sealable container for icing.
Ingredients:
Dough:
4 and 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer (equivalent of 3 eggs)
1 cup(ish) water
1/4 cup melted margarine (I use Earth Balance)
3 and 1/2 cup flour (I like white for this recipe)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp quick active dry yeast
Filling:
3/4 cup firmly packed (or 1 cup loose) brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine melted
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or to taste - I just keep adding until it's nice and chunky)
Icing (I always have to make 2 or 3 recipes, because who doesn't like icing?)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk (I use almond)
Directions:
1) Process the egg replacer and water in the food processor until it's nice and fluffy. Place it into the bread machine. Measure all other ingredients for the dough, and place them in order into the bread machine. Make sure that the flour completely covers the liquid, and that the yeast doesn't touch the salt (wipe down the teaspoon before measuring the yeast).
2) Select dough or manual cycle - don't use the delay cycle.
3) While the dough is being made, make the filling and the icing. I usually wait until the dough has 30 minutes left so that the filling is fresh. Put the icing in the fridge.
4) When the dough is done, remove it and place it on a clean surface. You can use nonstick cooking spray or flour on the surface to make sure the dough doesn't stick, but I didn't need to. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Greace the pan.
5) Flatten the dough using the rolling pin or hands into a 15x9in rectangle. Using the back of a spoon or a knife, spread the filling evenly over the rectangle, leaving about an inch on the 15in side without filling. Make sure to spread the fillling to the edge on every other side.
6) Roll the dough tightly, beginning at the 15in side that does have filling. When you get the other side, pinch the edge of the dough (this is the edge without filling) into the rest of the cylinder. (This is pretty difficult, and if it's not completely together, don't worry. Just roll the log so that the seam is on the bottom, so it doesn't come apart while you're cutting it.)
7) Cut the roll into 15 slices. I usually cut it into three even logs, then cut each of those into five rolls. Place each roll into the greased pan. Don't worry if some of the filling spills out, just put that side up in the pan, it'll still look and taste fine.
8) Place the pan in the fridge overnight. They can stay in there from 4 to 8 hours, so it doesn't really matter when you make the dough.
9) In the morning, heat the oven to 375. Take the icing out of the fridge so it can soften. Bake the rolls for 23 to 28 minutes, or until they start to turn a golden brown. Eat rolls with icing, and enjoy!
If you don't have a bread machine, everything is the same except for making the dough.
1) Prepare egg replacer in the food processor, as described above. Add all the other ingredients. Starting with a spoon, then using your hands, knead the dough until combined, then continue to knead the dough for a few minutes, making sure it is soft, smooth, and elastic.
2) Shape dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until it is doubled. During this time, prepare the filling and icing. When I made it it didn't really double, so that's fine.
3) Punch the dough down, then place it on a clean surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Then follow steps 5-9 above.
My brother's home on spring break this week, and entertains himself by taking pictures of just about everything. So here are a whole bunch of pictures:
So last night, I decided it would be nice to make cinnamon rolls for my parents. I found several months ago that if you prepare cinnamon rolls, put them in the pan, and then instead of letting them rise for 40 minutes in a warm place you put them in the fridge, you can cook them the next morning and they turn out great. It's the perfect birthday or anniversary surprise, especially for us night owls who are never awake before our parents on the weekends. The recipe is a combination of a vegan recipe and a bread machine recipe, so here it is.
This makes 15 cinnamon rolls. This recipe will work with or without a bread machine, but it's much easier with one. Also as a note, I totally forgot to add the cinnamon to these, and they still tasted good, so you can really easily modify the filling and add or take away whatever you want. Like if you don't have walnuts, just leave them out! I'd suggest using more brown sugar and margarine if you do that, so you still have enough filling.
Tools:
Oven, fridge, bread machine (makes it easier, but not neccesary), food processor (for egg replacer; optional), 13x9x2in pan, nonstick cooking spray, rolling pin, bowl for dough (if you don't have a bread machine), bowl for melting margarine, cup measure, tablespoon measure, teaspoon measure, bowl for filling, sealable container for icing.
Ingredients:
Dough:
4 and 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer (equivalent of 3 eggs)
1 cup(ish) water
1/4 cup melted margarine (I use Earth Balance)
3 and 1/2 cup flour (I like white for this recipe)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp quick active dry yeast
Filling:
3/4 cup firmly packed (or 1 cup loose) brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine melted
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or to taste - I just keep adding until it's nice and chunky)
Icing (I always have to make 2 or 3 recipes, because who doesn't like icing?)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk (I use almond)
Directions:
1) Process the egg replacer and water in the food processor until it's nice and fluffy. Place it into the bread machine. Measure all other ingredients for the dough, and place them in order into the bread machine. Make sure that the flour completely covers the liquid, and that the yeast doesn't touch the salt (wipe down the teaspoon before measuring the yeast).
2) Select dough or manual cycle - don't use the delay cycle.
3) While the dough is being made, make the filling and the icing. I usually wait until the dough has 30 minutes left so that the filling is fresh. Put the icing in the fridge.
4) When the dough is done, remove it and place it on a clean surface. You can use nonstick cooking spray or flour on the surface to make sure the dough doesn't stick, but I didn't need to. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Greace the pan.
5) Flatten the dough using the rolling pin or hands into a 15x9in rectangle. Using the back of a spoon or a knife, spread the filling evenly over the rectangle, leaving about an inch on the 15in side without filling. Make sure to spread the fillling to the edge on every other side.
6) Roll the dough tightly, beginning at the 15in side that does have filling. When you get the other side, pinch the edge of the dough (this is the edge without filling) into the rest of the cylinder. (This is pretty difficult, and if it's not completely together, don't worry. Just roll the log so that the seam is on the bottom, so it doesn't come apart while you're cutting it.)
7) Cut the roll into 15 slices. I usually cut it into three even logs, then cut each of those into five rolls. Place each roll into the greased pan. Don't worry if some of the filling spills out, just put that side up in the pan, it'll still look and taste fine.
8) Place the pan in the fridge overnight. They can stay in there from 4 to 8 hours, so it doesn't really matter when you make the dough.
9) In the morning, heat the oven to 375. Take the icing out of the fridge so it can soften. Bake the rolls for 23 to 28 minutes, or until they start to turn a golden brown. Eat rolls with icing, and enjoy!
If you don't have a bread machine, everything is the same except for making the dough.
1) Prepare egg replacer in the food processor, as described above. Add all the other ingredients. Starting with a spoon, then using your hands, knead the dough until combined, then continue to knead the dough for a few minutes, making sure it is soft, smooth, and elastic.
2) Shape dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until it is doubled. During this time, prepare the filling and icing. When I made it it didn't really double, so that's fine.
3) Punch the dough down, then place it on a clean surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Then follow steps 5-9 above.
My brother's home on spring break this week, and entertains himself by taking pictures of just about everything. So here are a whole bunch of pictures:
The dough rolled out, with the filling.
Me rolling the dough...
And pinching it. I found that if the moister the dough is, the eaiser it is to pinch.
The whole thing rolled
The unbaked rolls, on their way to the fridge.
My brother's plate - two cinnamon rolls with frosting, and fruit. Delicious!
I know this recipe is pretty time consuiming, but it's worth it if you love cinnamon rolls. Well, I'm making dinner tomorrow for my mom, so hopefully I can post that. Also the 24th is my birthday, so watch for a post about my absolute favorite vegan cake recipe. Can't wait!
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